Mike Rivington
Mike originally trained and worked as a design engineer before a six year 'career break' in outdoor education and recreation management. He then studied at Edinburgh University gaining a BSc in Ecological Science in 1995 and an MSc in Resource Management in 1999 and following a part-time study gained his PhD in 2010. Mike joined the Institute in 1999, working on the Land Allocation Decision Support System (LADSS) project.
Current research interests
These cover the interdisciplinary areas of climate change (uncertainty evaluation, impacts, adaptation and mitigation), ecosystem based adaptation and sustainable land use and food security. This is in the context of policy development support.
- Experience of land use systems modelling (both in the UK and internationally).
- Evaluation of the quality and suitability of climate model projections.
- Climate change impacts studies related to land use and ecosystems services.
- Developed a downscaling method allowing Regional Climate Models data to be bias corrected to become site-specific.
- Produced agro-meteorological indicators for climate change impacts and adaptation studies.
- Currently evaluating the uncertainty in the UKCP09 probabilistic climate projections.
He has a further interest in resilience and adaptation, risk evaluation, social learning, stakeholder engagement and participatory deliberation.
Mike has developed strong links with UNEP, contributing to the development of their Flagship Ecosystems Based Adaptation Project, and Ecosystem Management Policy Brief series. He was author / editor of a White Paper for UNEP on 'Climate information needs for decision making in natural resource management, biodiversity and ecosystem services' presented at the World Climate Conference - 3, Geneva, 2009, and an invited participant on the expert panel. He has also written a scoping paper, research and policy briefs for UNEP on the role of ecosystem management in climate change mitigation and adaptation, for the UNFCCC negotiation meetings for 15th Conference of the Parties meeting in Copenhagen.
Bibliography
Mike's highlighted publications
- Climate information and capacity needs for ecosystem management under a changing climate., Munang, R.; Rivington, M.; Takle, E.S.; Mackey, B.; Thiaw, I.; Liu, J., (2010) Procedia Environmental Sciences, 1, 206-227.
- Integrated solutions for biodiversity, climate change and poverty., Munang, R.M.; Rivington, M.; Lui, J.; Thiaw, I.; Kasten, T., (2010) UNEP Policy Series, Ecosystem Management Policy Brief, No.1.
- Ecosystem management: the need to adopt a different approach under a changing climate., Rivington, M.; Mumba, M.; Munang, R., (2010) World Resources Report 2010, World Resource Institute, 7pp.
- Ecosystem management: A key to enhancing food security under a changing climate., Munang, R,M.; Rivington, M., (2009) Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) Global Summit: Food Security in a Climate of Change, London, 19-21 October 2009. Invited Keynote Presentation.
- Cost effective solutions for climate change mitigation, adaptation and long-term sustainability: the ecosystems approach., Munang, R.M.; Rivington, M.; Aspinall, R.J.; Liu, J., (2009) UN General Assembly, New York, 22nd September 2009; United Nations Environmental Programme Brief, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Seventh and Eighth Sessions of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Co-operative Action (AWG-LCA); 15th Conference of the Parties Meeting, Copenhagen.
Mike's most recent publications
- Climate change and ecosystem-based adaptation: a new pragmatic approach to buffering climate change impacts., Munang, R.; Thiaw, I.; Alverson, K.; Mumba, M.; Liu, J.; Rivington, M., (In press) Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability.
- Climate model biases, downscaling and implications on crop model simulated climate change impacts., Rivington, M.; Matthews, K.B.; Miller, D.G.; Buchan, K.; Bellocchi, G.; Stockle, C.O.; Russell, G., (In press) European Journal of Agronomy.
- Adapting crops and cropping systems to future climates to ensure food security: the role of crop modelling., Matthews, R.B.; Rivington, M.; Muhammed, S.; Newton, A.C.; Hallett, P.D., (2013) Global Food Security.
- Climate change impacts and adaptation scope for agriculture indicated by agro-meteorological metrics., Rivington, M.; Matthews, K.B.; Buchan, K.; Miller, D.G; Bellocchi, G.; Russell, G., (2013) Agricultural Systems, 114, 15-31.
- Building resilience to climate change: making the case for ecosystem-based adaptation., Mensah, A.; Deeb, A.; Grunwaldt, A.H.; Andrade, A.; Kontorov, A.; Mills, A.; Dickson, B.; Petersen, C.; Gordon, C.; Chuku C.; Gohler, D.; Mkwambisi, D.; Benzaken, D.; Barrow, E.; Fida, E.; van der Plaat, F.; Gitay, H.; Reid, H.; Gordon, I.; Thiaw, I.; Meliane, I.; Gaithuma, J.; DeBlieu, J.; Thompson, J.; Shrestha, J.; Tscherning, K.; Alverson, K.; Mwathe, K.; Esquivel, M.; Finlayson, M.; van Voore, M.; Rivington, M.; Alam, M.; Mumba, M.; Doswald, N.; Sekhran, N.; Raasakka, N.; Ikkala, N.; Vestergaard, O.; McCarthy, P.; van Gardingen, P.; Klein, R.; Munang, R.; Kay, R.; Munroe, R.; Lichte, R.; Haeussling, S.; Donner, S.; Crane, S.; Booth, T.; Vergara, W., (2012) UNON/Publishing, Nairobi, 12pp.
- Technical assessment and evaluation of environmental models and software: Letter to the Editor., Alexandrov, G.A.; Ames, D.; Aumann, C.; Bellocchi, G.; Bruen, M.; Crout, N.; Erechtchoukova, M.; Hildebrandt, A.; Hoffman, F.; Jackisch, C.; Khaiter, P.; Mannina, G.; Matsunaga, T.; Purucker, S.T.; Rivington, M.; Samaniego L.; Sherman, B., (2011) Environmental Modelling and Software, 26, 328-336.
- World Resources Report 2010-2011: Decision making in a changing climate - adaptation challenges and choices., Angel, P.S. (Editor-in-Chief); Rivington, M. et al., (2011) World Resources Institute (WRI) in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Bank, Washington, DC.
- Summary of results from synergies in multi-scale inter-linkages of eco-social systems (SMILE) Project 2007- 2011., Blackstock, K.L. Matthews, K.B.; Buchan, K.; Miller, D.; Rivington, M., (2011) Summary of results sent out to all Scottish participants in SMILE FP7 Project.
- D23a: Utility of tools to stakeholders update., Blackstock, K.L.; Matthews, K.B.; Buchan, D.G.; Miller, D.G.; Rivington, M., (2011) Updated deliverable to SMILE FP7 project.
- Raising the bar? The challenge of evaluating the outcomes of environmental modelling and software., Matthews, K.B.; Rivington, M.; Blackstock, K.L.; McCrum, G.; Buchan, K.; Miller, D.G., (2011) Environmental Modelling and Software, 26, 247-257.
- Adapting for a green economy: Companies, communities and climate change. A caring for Climate Report., Munang, R.; Rivington, M. et al., (2011) The Global Compact, UNEP, WRI, Oxfam.
- Sustaining forests: Investing in our common future., Munang, R.; Thiaw, I.; Thompson, J.; Ganz, D.; Girvetz, E.; Rivington, M., (2011) UNEP Ecosystem Management Policy Series, No. 5, August 2011.
- Report on the meta-analysis of crop modelling for climate change and food security survey, Rivington, M.; Koo, J., (2011) Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research / Earth Systems Science Partnership sponsored Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security Challenge Program.
- Ecosystem management: Tomorrow's approach to enhancing food security under a changing climate., Tingem Munang, R.; Thiaw, I.; Rivington, M., (2011) Sustainability, 3, 937-954.
- Validation of biophysical models: issues and methodologies: a review., Bellocchi, G.; Rivington, M.; Donatelli, M.; Matthews, K.B., (2010) Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30, 109-130.
Scientific/Conference Posters
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